OSE FreeCAD Tutorials

Meta

Take-home points and learning outcomes of the 2 tutorials below:

• by learning to sketch in FreeCAD, you can then create any 3D objects imaginable
• Importing part libraries and working with them is a powerful way to do design work using Part Libraries. This can get the casual user to powerful design capacity using real geometries.

Introduction

After these 2 tutorials, you are ready to work on User Contributed Designs. Please pause the videos as needed in order to practice the demonstrated lesson, as these tutorials are dense.

A FreeCAD Manual

The FreeCAD Manual has a different learning approach than the official FreeCAD documentation wiki that makes it more suitable for a first contact with FreeCAD.

FreeCAD Test

Purpose

This exercise tests your ability to:

• download and use library parts in FreeCAD
• rotate, move, and align objects in 3D
• Use the Sketcher in FreeCAD to make features on faces
• Use circular assembly constraints in FreeCAD
• Use RecordMyDesktop to record instructional screen-casts
• Use KdenLive to edit a basic video, adding images and sound
• Upload videos to YouTube
• Embed videos in the wiki

Test

• Use the comment box above to tell us how long it took you to learn the tutorials. Please include any suggestions on the videos.
• Download 8-hole square tubing (without rounded corners) from the OSE Part Library.
• Use the tubing to create an x-y-z bolted corner cube.
• Record a video of you building the cube, from the beginning, using RecordMyDesktop.
• When you are done building the cube, create a 1" bolt and nut using the Bolt Library in FreeCAD.
• Insert one bolt through any of the corners, as if you were actually building the cube - using the Assembly Workbench in FreeCAD.
• Tighten the bolt with the nut (just insert the nut onto the bolt).
• Now take any face on the tubing of the resulting cube - and using Sketcher on that particular face - write your initials on that face. Pocket those initials so that they are cut into the face.
• Speed up the file to turn it into a 30 second video using Kdenlive. Add Pling by Jaspertine from the Open Source Soundtracks
• Upload the video to YouTube and embed in the section below
• At that point - Welcome to the Team, Ms/r. Opensourcer. You now have the basic skills to manipulate objects in 3D and to begin composing useful parts - including your ability to document your work with videos.

Self-Verifying FreeCAD Exam Videos

Having completed this exercise, you will enable any reviewer to verify your skill set in 30 seconds by viewing a video with your signature (initials on the cube). Here are the results:

Links

• FreeCAD Architecture Tutorial